Friday, 27 February 2009

Paul Tams, the show's co-creator and co-associate producer, told The Doctor Who News Page: "As eagle-eyed people may spot, I based the new logo on K9's old-type font of Westminster, with an update. The font is also used on K9's new body."

Principal photography on the series is due to finish on May 7 and the show should air on Network Ten in Australia at some point in 2009. The electronic dog - described by Tams as "sleek and different from any previous images seen on the net, etc" - will be on screen as an animatronic prop and in CGI form.

DWNP Archive

Thursday, 26 February 2009

As previously announced on the news page, the classic Doctor Who series adventure Image of the Fendahl, starring Tom Baker and Louise Jameson, will be released on Region 2 DVD (UK), with the now-confirmed date of release ofApril 6th. Meanwhile, a full listing of extras for the DVD have now been issued:

The newest issue of Doctor Who Adventures, issue #104 comes with a bumper Cyber pack -- with two different Cyber sets to choose from. One set includes a sinister Cyberleader mask and the other includes a Cybershade mask as seen in the last Doctor Who special. Both come with two different sets of Cyber badges, two sticker sheets and a massive double-sided poster of Dalek creator Davros on one side and the Doctor and Donna on the other.

Also in the magazine is an interview with "the plucky girl who helped fight those Cyber terrors at Christmas -- actress Velile Tshabalala who played Rosita," as well as posters (a Clockwork Robot, Rosita, a deadly Dalek and a stomping Cyberman), news, a "little Bannakaffalatta for you to colour in," "part of our competition to win a bony Sycorax head, and loads of other goodies" plus other items. Doctor Who Adventures issue 104 is out now.

Doctor Who has won an international award for its special effects, and David Tennant has been doubly nominated for the Broadcasting Press Guildawards.

The Visual Effects Society, an international organization of visual effects professionals, nominated Doctor Who in two categories this year. Simon Wickers, Charlie Bennett, Tim Barter and Arianna Lago won the award for "Outstanding Matte Paintings in a Broadcast Program or Commercial" for their work on "Silence in the Library" (click thumbnail below for example). Doctor Who has been previously nominated several times for VES awards, but this is the first time it has won; historically, the awards have generally gone to North American productions.

The team at the Mill were also nominated for "Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or Special", but lost to the HBO miniseries "John Adams". The full list of nominees for the 7th Annual VES Awards are here; the list of winners is here.

In other awards news, David Tennant has been nominated twice in the Best Actor category of the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, selected by journalists who write about TV and radio. Tennant is nominated both for his role as the Doctor and for his performance as astrophysicist Arthur Eddington in the BBC/HBO coproduction "Einstein and Eddington", which has also been nominated for Best Single Drama. The winners will be announced on 27 March. Further details are available at the Broadcasting Press Guild website and from the Guardian.

Monday, 23 February 2009

As noted in This Week in Doctor Who, the 2008 Christmas special comes to Canada in March when The Next Doctor is shown on the SPACE channel. The episode is scheduled to be shown on Saturday 14th March at 9pmEastern Time.

Previous episodes of the series have been shown on CBC. SPACE has also acquired the Canadian broadcast rights toTorchwood. The channel can be seen on satellite on Bell TV and Star Choice and is available on most Canadian cable systems.

Friday, 20 February 2009

To tie in with the broadcast of Series Two of Torchwood on UK digital channel Watch, the broadcaster has teamed up with Torchwood Magazineto present a special online comic strip.

Ice Monsters sees Captain Jack and the Torchwood team battling Ice Monster creatures who have the ability to change the weather. It is written by Torchwood's script editor/assistant producer Brian Minchin and illustrated by former Doctor Who Magazine comic artist Adrian Salmon.

Wednesday, 18 February 2009

Maintaining the comic theme, Titan Publishing have provided details on the John and Carole Barrowman-penned comic strip Captain Jack and the Selkie, which appears in Issue 14 of Torchwood Magazine (due out at the shops in the UK on 19th February and the US on 17th March).

Carole E. Barrowman explains how the project took off: "When John and I were working on [John's autobiography] Anything Goes, we spent a lot of time together on the Torchwood set. In between our storytelling and moments of inspired silliness (maybe one or two), we decided we’d like to work on a project together that involved Captain Jack. The role of myth in a culture’s zeitgeist has always intrigued John and I (it probably intrigues all sci-fi fans) so I when I got back to the US, I sent John a short story I’d written, 'The Tale of the Selkie.' Almost immediately he called and said, 'This should be our first Captain Jack tale.'”

John Barrowman picks up the story: "Fast forward to ComicCon 2008 in San Diego, where we met the artists Tommy Lee Edwards and Trevor Goring. Tommy and Trevor had drawn a brilliant poster of my face super-imposed over the Face of Boe, which I think is the best piece of Captain Jack art I've seen. The four of us hit it off immediately and I asked if they’d ever be interested in working with us on a Captain Jack project. They thought about it for, oh, about 30 seconds, and so 'Captain Jack and the Selkie' was born!"

Titan have also provided a mini-interview between the two writers, which is reproduced in the spoiler section below.

From screen to strip! John Barrowman reveals all about his new comic strip creation. Here, John Barrowman discusses the strip in a special interview conducted by his sister, Carole.

CB: Ready to chat about our Torchwood Magazine comic?
JB: Wait. Shouldn’t we have some sound effects if we’re making this read like a scene from '24'?

CB: Do you even know how to write sound effects? You're the worst speller.
JB: I blame the doctor for that because when I was a kid I'd stay up late on Sunday nights when the classic DOCTOR WHO was on WTTW in Chicago so I'd never study for my Monday morning spelling tests. Add the sound effects later.

CB: Do you remember when we first got the idea to collaborate on a Captain Jack story?
JB: The summer when we were working together on Anything Goes. We were on location for Torchwood in a warehouse in Cardiff. I was filming the "Meat" episode.

CB: Wasn’t that the same shoot where the pigeon pooped on Jack's shoulder? Now that was hilarious.
JB: That was good luck . . . the shoot was taking forever. Lots of green screen shots. I think I started making up ways that Jack could end the scene and we could all get home. Now that I think about it, we came up with some funny stuff . . . I still think we should do something someday with the idea of Jack and the–

CB: Shush!! . . . Can we tease shamelessly like that?
JB [laughing] I think we just did. Anyway, I remember the endings we made up got more ridiculous the longer we all sat in that cold damp warehouse . . . you and I kept playing on the way home in the car.

CB: I'd forgotten about that . . . do you remember what we called the game?
JB: "What Would Jack Do?" . . . but the actual comic didn’t really take shape until Comic Con last summer in San Diego when we met Tommy Lee Edwards and Trevor Goring.

CB: It was the 'Face of Boe' poster that did it.
JB: The poster they created of Jack superimposed on the 'Face of Boe' still amazes me when I look at it. I framed it as soon as I got back to London. It's on the wall in my office and I think it’s the best illustrated characterization of Jack that I’ve come across . . . until our comic is released that is.

CB: And you see a lot of images of Jack.
JB: Oh, yeah . . . so after Tommy, Trevor and I signed a batch of the posters, I asked them if they'd ever be interested in working with us on a graphic novel about Captain Jack.

CB: We had a graphic novel in our head because we had both recently read Neil Gaiman’s MARVEL 1602. You’d bought it to send home with me for Turner [my son], but we each ended up reading it first.
JB: Was that the one where the X-Men face the Spanish Inquisition?

CB: Uh, huh . . . they're in Elizabethan England. Very clever stuff.
JB: Trevor and Tommy thought a collaboration sounded like a great idea and on the way home from Comic Con I knew that if we didn’t pursue the idea of the four of us working together right away, we'd all get busy with our individual work and it would never happen.

CB: Torchwood Magazine didn’t necessarily have a comic in mind did they?
JB: I don’t think so . . . but given that we’d just hooked up with two of the best artists in the comic world, as far as I was concerned, it made sense to pitch a comic . . . and then later when you and I were brainstorming on a story, I remembered you’d written something before about the myth of the selkie, and I thought it'd be a perfect plot to adapt for what, in my head, I was already calling a "Captain Jack Tale."

CB: Except that my story had nothing to do with Torchwood or Captain Jack.
JB: Not then it didn’t but we worked that out between us . . . I'd always wanted to do something that put Jack in Scotland and your original story was set on an island off the Orkneys. Plus we’d already agreed to tell a story that showed a side of Jack and a part of his history that hadn’t been explored too much in other media . . . I wanted to give fans something original about Jack.

CB: What side of Jack do you think our comic foregrounds?
JB: I think we see Jack’s compassion . . . maybe his guilt. Plus his wicked skills with a harpoon!

CB: You've always been a comic fan, haven't you?
JB: Oh, yeah. Love Spiderman, Batman, and definitely Captain America. . . I think it has something to do with when we immigrated to the States in the late 70s and I was trying hard to be an American kid. Couldn’t get enough of comics and Captain America . . . but I also love Superman–all the Justice League heroes for that matter.

CB: Do you remember the first mint condition comic you ever bought me when you could afford one?
SOUNDS OF SILENCE
CB: You haven’t got a clue, have you?
JB: A TIN TIN comic . . . plus a bunch of first edition 'Noddy' books.

CB: Nice save . . . so what do you think of 'Captain Jack and The Selkie' now that you’ve seen the finished product?
JB: I'm astonished. It's brilliant work. The panels with the selkie are completely breathtaking . . . and Jack looks so damn good.

CB: When Tommy and Trevor sent the first colored panels, I just stared at them in stunned admiration.
JB: Tommy Lee, Trevor, John Workman on the lettering, Martin Eden at Torchwood Magazine, everyone worked really hard, but Tommy Lee especially, given the tight deadlines and budget constraints.

The Daily Record newspaper is reporting that actress Lindsay Duncan has been cast as the Doctor's companion, named in the report as Adelaide, in the second of the forthcoming special episodes which will see out David Tennant's tenure as the Tenth Doctor.

Duncan is well known for her roles in high-profile television dramas such as GBH and Rome. She is also appearing as Margaret Thatcher in next week's much-publicised BBC Two drama Margaret, concerning the former Prime Minister's final days in power.

The paper quotes Duncan as saying: "I'm thrilled to be involved in Doctor Who. I've never done anything like this before and I'm really looking forward to working with David Tennant and the Doctor Who team."

The special's co-writer and executive producer Russell T Davies is also quoted, saying: "Lindsay is an incredibly talented actress and I've been an admirer of her work for some time. We are delighted to announce that she will be joining the team and playing the Doctor's most strong-minded companion yet."

Incidentally, in 2008 Duncan co-starred alongside forthcoming Doctor Matt Smith in a critically acclaimed theatrical production of That Face.

UPDATE - Feb 19: The BBC today confirmed Duncan's casting as Adelaide. Production on the second special - co-written by Davies and Phil Ford - is due to start this spring.

The character actor James Bree - who had three notable roles inDoctor Who - has died at the age of 85 after a long illness, reportsThe Stage.

Bree's first appearance in Doctor Who was as The Security Chief in the 1969 ten-parter The War Games - soon to be released on DVD. He appeared again in the show in 1980, playing Decider Nefred in the four-part story Full Circle, which was recently released on DVD in the UK as part of The E-Space Trilogy.

Bree's many other TV credits included The Jewel In The Crown, I, Claudius, Glittering Prizes, The Duchess of Duke Street, Z Cars, Rumpole of the Bailey, The Professionals, and Budgie. His film appearances included On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Bree died on December 1, 2008 according to the report, but his death has only just been announced.

Overseas filming for the Easter special episode Planet of the Dead has concluded, and Dubai-based newspaper 7DAYS has a (presumably) final report on the fate of the double-decker bus used in filming. The report contains minor spoilers for the special.

According to 7DAYS, the bus (which was damaged in transit to the UAE) was able to be used in filming, but is no longer serviceable and will be crushed into a cube. Members of a Doctor Who fan club at Dubai's English College were able to see the bus prior to its demolition.

The report also mentions that on their last night in Dubai, David Tennant and crew members watched the Wales v. England rugby match in a resort hotel's bar.

A photograph of the bus's interior and a larger version of the photograph at right can be seen in the newspaper's E-paper edition (free registration required).

Tuesday, 17 February 2009

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts will be presenting a special event on 17th March; Russell T Davies in Conversation will take place at the Princess Anne Theatre on Piccadilly, and will feature a talk from the writer on "his origins in children's programmes, his thoughts about the audience and his hopes and fears for kids' output in the future - including his view on the BBC's move to Salford."

The evening is co-presented by BAFTA and the Showcomotion Children's Media Conference; further details and ticket booking can be found on the BAFTA website.

Today's Sci-Fi Wire reports that IDW will release a special one-shot Doctor Who comic, "The Whispering Gallery," by artist Ben Templesmith and writers Leah Moore and John Reppion.

In "The Whispering Gallery," the TARDIS lands in a maze-like gallery filled with thousands of talking pictures, and the Doctor and Martha discover they've come across a planet where showing emotion has been outlawed. The inhabitants have good reason for their suppression, but it wouldn't be like the Doctor to leave them in fear of truly living.

Married writing team Leah Moore and John Reppion have been fans of Doctor Who and pitched IDW Publishing on their story idea for the classic British sci-fi hero after Leah had a dream about a two-page spread one night.

DWNP Archive

Monday, 16 February 2009

Today's Sun announced that Doctor Who could be returning to the stage in a new show later this year. The article reports that the stage show will a multi-media light and sound show with 3D-footage, and will feature many of the Doctor's best loved characters, including "flying DALEKS, croaky CYBERMEN and stocky SONTARANS in the family event."

The paper mentions that plans are at an early stage, and that BBC Worldwide will make a decision in a month or so. Venues mentioned include the Birmingham NEC and the London O2.

Says an insider: "The BBC know they’ve got a massive hit show on their hands, so they want to take it to the next level. They want it to be a Doctor Who experience which will blast fans with amazing visuals and music. The emphasis will be on technology so it’s unlikely any of the show’s stars will be on stage. But they are expected to feature in video elements. That said, the idea of using real actors hasn’t been ruled out."

Australia: the Mercury reports that a stage show based on Doctor Who opens this week at the Peacock Theatre in Tasmania; entitled "Who, Knows", the show follows the adventures of Russell Lambert as he becomes the president of the Doctor Who Club of Tasmania. (with thanks to Dwayne Bunney)

The play, which was staged in Stratford-upon-Avon then London, also won the Best Regional Production gong. The London dates - at The Novello Theatre - did not qualify for the awards, though, which were voted for by 35,000 people.

The ceremony, held at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London, was co-hosted by Sheridan Smith, who plays companion Lucie Miller in the Big Finish audio dramas.

In addition, Under The Blue Sky, which co-starred Catherine Tate and ran at the Duke of York's Theatre in London's West End, won the Best New Play award.

Tennant had to miss some of the London run of Hamlet because of a back injury but was able to return before it ended.

Last month we reported on the role of producer being advertised for Doctor Who. The BBC has now provided details for another position to accompany the show, that of Interactive Producer.

As the job title implies, the role revolves around the media aspect of the show; in context: "BBC Wales successfully produces a wide range of network commissions such as Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Amazon and Last Chance to See. These productions increasingly include enhanced interactive content for digital TV, online and mobile platforms. The Interactive Producer is dedicated to producing innovative and compelling high quality content across interactive television, mobile and web platforms."

Like the producer's position, this one is once again a 12-month contract. The closing date is 27th February, and full details may be found on the BBC Jobs website.

The BBC Press Office have confirmed that filming has now begun in the United Arab Emirates for the forthcoming special Planet of the Dead.

Says producer Tracie Simpson: "We rarely take Doctor Who abroad although we did visit Rome for series four's The Fires Of Pompeii which gave us some spectacular footage. The locations in Dubai are a perfect match for writer Russell T Davies's vision of the episode and we expect to film some incredible scenes while we are here."

News on filming has also been mentioned in the local Dubai paper The National: "While filming in crippling sandstorms in Dubai this week may have proved troublesome for mere mortals, the cult sci-fi figure the Doctor, hero of the popular BBC programme Doctor Who, emerged victorious over the climatic horrors of planet Earth. Hundreds of production crew descended on the desert around the city this week to film part of an episode of the programme. The location remained a closely guarded secret despite being in the wide open desert, with production company staff and all technical crew from Dubai required to sign confidentiality agreements."

Further to our news article on the Mark Wallinger exhibition taking place at the Hayward Gallery in London over the next few weeks, a lecture has now been announced for Friday 27th February which will feature writer and script-editor Gary Russell talking about the secrets of the TARDIS: "Blackboard lectures unveil the secrets, enigmas and stories behind works and objects featured in Mark Wallinger's show with a wide range of experts including artists, writers, mathematicians or sport and art historians."

Admission to the lecture, taking place at 7:00pm, will be free with an exhibition ticket. Further details are on the Gallery website.

Meanwhile, the Yorkshire Evening Post has reported on the exhibition moving to Leeds and Swansea in the future. It will be at the Leeds Art Gallery from May 16 to June 28 and then the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea from July 18 to September 20. It is at the Hayward from February 18 to May 4.

The offical Doctor Who site reports that there will be a special Red Nose Day version of The Sarah Jane Adventures. The mini-adventure will feature an old enemy, and the return of K9.

The special is written by Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman, and will see Elisabeth Sladen, Tommy Knight, Daniel Anthony and Anjli Mohindra reprising their roles, with special guest Ronnie Corbett. It will be broadcast as part of Comic Relief on the 13th March.

This week, Doctor Who Adventures has a fascinating fact file about the actor who has been chosen to be the Eleventh Doctor -- Matt Smith.

Also, do you suspect your friend is an alien? Some creatures are masters of disguise and it's difficult to tell what they really look like. We've got a feature all about the monsters that look human and are therefore very dangerous.

Also in the magazine:

What mystery gift will you find inside this week's Doctor Who Adventures? There's something special with every issue.

Posters: Martha Jones poster and the Doctor and the Gelth from The Unquiet Dead.

News: Pictures from the Easter special, Planet of the Dead.

Monsters: The ultimate guide to Sontarans.

Tale from the TARDIS: DWA readers' favourite scene from The Next Doctor. The CyberKing rises!

Puzzles: Fun things to work out!

Reader survey: Tell us what you think of Doctor Who Adventures!

Colour it!: The Dalek Sec Hybrid is waiting for you!

Comic strip: The Doctor and Heather land in the largest supermarket in the universe.

BBC Books have provided details for the three new Torchwood novels due to be published in May.

Bay of the Dead – Mark Morris

When the city sleeps, the dead start to walk…

Something has sealed off Cardiff, and living corpses are stalking the streets, leaving a trail of half-eaten bodies. Animals are butchered. A young couple in their car never reach their home. A stolen yacht is brought back to shore, carrying only human remains. And a couple of girls heading back from the pub watch the mysterious drivers of a big black SUV take over a crime scene.

Torchwood have to deal with the intangible barrier surrounding Cardiff, and some unidentified space debris that seems to be regenerating itself. Plus, of course, the all-night zombie horror show.

Not that they really believe in zombies.

Mark Morris is the author of fourteen novels, including two Doctor Who books, and numerous novellas, short stories, articles and reviews, which have appeared in a wide variety of anthologies and magazines. This is his first Torchwood novel. His website can be found here.

The House That Jack Built – Guy Adams

Jackson Leaves - an Edwardian house in Penylan. Built 1906, semi-detached, three storeys, spacious, beautifully presented. Left in good condition to Rob and Julia by Rob’s late aunt.

It’s an ordinary sort of a house. Except for the way the rooms don’t stay in the same places. And the strange man that turns up in the airing cupboard. And the apparitions. And the temporal surges that attract the attentions of Torchwood.

And the fact that the first owner of Jackson Leaves in 1906 was a Captain Jack Harkness…

Guy Adams has written books about Life on Mars including the bestselling Rules of Modern Policing, written as DCI Gene Hunt. He's the author of the British Fantasy Society Award nominated Deadbeat series and a handful of children's books, and is currently working on a thirteen-volume horror series for young adults and a replica scrapbook of John Watson MD's time with Sherlock Holmes. This is his first Torchwood novel.

Into the Silence – Sarah Pinborough

The body in the church hall is very definitely dead. It has been sliced open with surgical precision, its organs exposed, and its vocal cords are gone. It is as if they were never there or they’ve been dissolved…

With the Welsh Amateur Operatic Contest getting under way, music is filling the churches and concert halls of Cardiff. The competition has attracted the finest Welsh talent to the city, but it has also drawn something else – there are stories of a metallic creature hiding in the shadows. Torchwood are on its tail, but it’s moving too fast for them to track it down.

This new threat requires a new tactic – so Ianto Jones is joining a male voice choir…

Sarah Pinborough is the author of five horror novels, two of which have been short-listed for the British Fantasy Society Award for Best Novel in 2007 and 2008. She currently lives and works in Milton Keynes. You can find out more about her here.

A number of new Doctor Who-related comics were announced during the recent New York ComicCon during a panel held by IDW Publishing.

May will see The Time Machination by Tony Lee with art by Paul Grist; this is a 22 page issue that the author revealed will involve Victorian London, and will be the first Doctor Who comic to mention Torchwood.

From July, a new monthly anthology, also by Lee, will commence; entitledDoctor Who Ongoing, it aims to be a 'season' to portray new tenth Doctor adventures, with all-new companions, through to the arrival of his eleventh incarnation in issue 18 (December 2010). Lee commented: "It’s the best fun I’ve ever had." The first two issues will be set in Hollywood in 1927.

BBC Books have announced details for the two new Doctor Who books due to be published in September

The Dalek Project

1917: The Great War is at its fiercest and most terrible. But things are about to get even worse… When the Doctor arrives at Hellcombe Hall in England he discovers a house full of mystery. There are locked doors and forbidden rooms, dustsheets cover guilty secrets, the maid Mary Carter is scared of the ghosts… And that’s before Corporal Anderson finds that his muddy corpse-filled trench ends in the drawing room. Armaments manufacturer Lord Hellcombe has a new secret weapon he believes will win the war. But when the Doctor witnesses the final demonstration he begins to realise how much danger everyone is in. Because Lord Hellcome claims to have invented the Dalek. Except, of course, that nothing is quite what it seems. The Doctor and his new friends must draw on every type of early 20th century technology and every element of human ingenuity and bravery if they are to discover the truth and to survive. If they are to prevent the entire Western Front of World War One from becoming part of The Dalek Project.

The book will be written by Justin Richards, Creative Consultant for the BBC’s Doctor Who Books and illustrated by Doctor Who Magazine veteran Mike Collins, with an introduction by Russell T Davies. Justin Richards commented, "At BBC Books, we're all very excited about publishing our first graphic novel. We're been keen to move into this area for a long time, and it's taken a lot of planning and preparation. Mike Collins' artwork, as readers of his DWM comic strips already know, is so stunning that it's been a real challenge to come up with a script that will do his work - and the Doctor himself - justice. The graphic novel format lends itself to storytelling on an epic scale - so expect to see the Daleks at their most cunning and awesome, and the Doctor at his most brilliant and heroic."

Doctor Who: The Ultimate Monster Guide

The ultimate guide to the monsters the Doctor has encountered in centuries of travelling space and time

For The Ultimate Monster Guide, Doctor Who historian Justin Richards has completely revised and updated entries from his first three bestselling reference books – and included a wealth of new material from both the current and the classic series – to create the most comprehensive guide to the Doctor’s enemies ever published. From Adipose and Autons to Zarbi and Zygons, this guide tells you everything you need to know about the many dastardly creatures the Doctor has fought over the 46 years since he first appeared on television.

The Guide also includes behind the scenes secrets of how the monsters were created, as well as design drawings and images. Find out how the Cybermen were redesigned over the years, and how Davros was resurrected to lead his Daleks once again. Discover the computer magic that made the Beast possible, and the make-up wizardry that created the Weeping Angels. Learn how many incarnations of the Master the Doctor has encountered, and which other misguided Time Lords he has defeated...

Lavishly illustrated with photos and artwork throughout, The Ultimate Monster Guide is essential reading for all travellers in time and space!

Thursday, 12 February 2009

London's Hayward Gallery on the South Bank will be opening a new exhibition from 18th February, entitled Mark Wallinger Curates: The Russian Linesman - a name inspired by a ruling made during the 1966 England v West Germany World Cup final and which reputedly changed the course of football history.

The exhibition will explore "notions of the liminal: thresholds between physical, political or metaphysical realms". Says Wallinger: "I have always been interested in how we define and are defined by thresholds and boundaries, the events of history. The works in the exhibition use illusion, artifice and dislocating devices to look at our accidental time and place in the world afresh."

For Doctor Who fans, the exhibition also includes Wallinger's own "Time and Relative Dimensions in Space", a reflective 'TARDIS' originally featured in 2001's Venice Biennale.

Wednesday, 11 February 2009

The media are reporting today that new Doctor Matt Smith has been signed up for three years, with an option for an additional two. The Sun announced that "NEW Doctor Who Matt Smith will get £1million to play the Time Lord for five years. The little-known actor, 26, has signed a £200,000-a-year deal with the BBC1 sci-fi hit. His contract ties him into the show for three years, with the option of two more after that." The ubiquitous insider said: "Bosses don't want Matt doing a David and leaving when things are going great."

Sunday, 8 February 2009

The award, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and presented at a ceremony at the Royal Opera House in London, is the only award voted on by the public. It honours a young actor/actress of any nationality who has demonstrated exceptional talent and begun to capture the imagination of the British public as a film star in the making.

Clarke, who played Mickey Smith in Doctor Whoand wrote the Torchwood Series One episodeCombat, won the award for his work as writer and star of the feature length Kidulthood as well as follow up film Adulthood, the latter of which he also directed.

Ian Smith, Head of Partnerships at Orange, said: "We are delighted that Noel Clarke has been chosen as this year's Orange Rising Star. Noel is truly a fantastic role model for the next generation of aspiring film talent in Britain."

Finola Dwyer, Chairman of the BAFTA Film Committee, said: "I'm sure the British public will join me in congratulating a very deserving winner."

Also at the awards, former Doctor Who writer and co-creator of K-9, Bob Baker, won the BAFTA for Short Animation for his work on Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death. Baker shared the award with Steve Pegram and Nick Park.

As revealed below, the BBC has now released the trailer for the forthcoming Torchwood series.

Children Of Earth will air over five consecutive nights on BBC One later this year. Captain Jack (John Barrowman), Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles) and Ianto Jones (Gareth David-Lloyd) are still coming to terms with the death of two of their closest friends. Despite their pain, they have a job to do. This time they are faced with their fiercest threat to date, one which throws the future of Torchwood and the entire human race spiralling into danger. They battle against the odds but do they stand a chance of saving mankind?

The series will also be shown on BBC America. Trailer content may be unavailable outside the United Kingdom.

Wednesday, 4 February 2009

This month's Doctor Who Magazine reveals that the upcoming Doctor Who specials will be shot in High Definition, a first for the series. Previously the production team has resisted the move to HD, because of the higher costs involved particularly with effects shots. Executive Producer Julie Gardner said the team has been planning the move to HD for many months. James Strong, who is directing Planet of the Dead, has considerable experience working in HD on programmes such as Hustle. The change means the programme will be shown on the BBC High Definition channel as well as on BBC One. BBC HD is available subscription free in Europe on Freesat. The channel is also part of the Sky HDservice and the Virgin Media HD service.

In other news the magazine also reveals that K-9 is due to play a large part in Series Three of The Sarah Jane Adventures. He is likely to appear in around 6 episodes of the 12 part series.

The magazine, out on Thursday, contains the first magazine interview with Matt Smith, recently revealed as the Eleventh Doctor. It asks how he plans to go about playing a 950-year-old Time Lord?

"The script is where it starts, it's always about the words, and luckily we're in the hands of Steven Moffat, who has this show ingrained in his soul and searing through his blood. It’s really born into his whole fabric, and that's the job for me over the next few months, to make this show part of my fibre. I think Steven is going to be the main creative source for me, and we're going to discover it together, who the Doctor is in Steven's mind and words, coupled with pockets of my personality, my history, my life, and the man and the human being that I am. I've got a meeting with Piers (Wenger, executive producer) next week to discuss that, but I think we'll start rehearsing and, you know, just sit around Piers' or Steven's kitchen table, read the scripts together, talk about the part. We’ll talk about my intentions, their intentions, how we feel it can fly, and sing, and be as brilliant and as Doctor-y and as excellent as it can be."

When asked what he might wear as the Doctor? "I’m a big fan of long coats and rather dashing scarves in everyday life, so who knows? For the audition, I rocked up in whatever, so I think they’re having to tone down what I wear in real life for the Doctor! I am a rather elaborate dresser. That's what's lovely, there are all these exciting things – what’s he going to wear, what’s he going to do in his first scene with his companion, which monsters will he meet, will he meet the Daleks? This show is so alive, it really is. I can't ever quite forget that I'm the Doctor – which is weird, because it’s still so far away. But it’s always there in my subconscious, because it's the Doctor! It’s like, there’s Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, and Doctor Who. It has resonance in our cultural fabric."

Also in the magazine:

Showrunner-in-waiting Steven Moffat shares with DWM readers just what it's like to cast a new Doctor Who in Production Notes.

Remember the Zygon gambit? The Yeti in the Underground? Or that, frankly, unmissable invasion by thousands of Daleks after Earth was transported billions of miles across space? DWM investigates why so many people in the Doctor Who universe, apparently, don't!

Susie Liggat talks to DWM about her experiences as the producer of the UK's best-loved drama series.

The Fact of Fiction revals some surprising secrets about 1975's Planet of Evil.

Can the Doctor and Majenta prevent the Day of the Lokhus? And what will become of Maxwell Edison? Find out in the final part of DWM's latest comic strip, The Stockbridge Child by Dan McDaid, with art by Martin Geraghty.

Neil Harris writes an open letter to Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith, full of helpful advice, in You Are Not Alone.

DWM turns the tables on the BBC's "Doctor Who correspondent" and asks Who on Earth Is Lizo Mzimba?

UPDATED The figures mentioned are actually exclusive figures from Underground Toys at this year's San Diego Comic-Con.

The First and Second Doctor 2-packs and the Sixth Doctor figures are Underground Toys exclusives and Forbidden Toys is the exclusive retailer for them in the UK.

Toy collectors in the US will be able to get these figures at San Diego and shortly afterward at select retailers that carry the Doctor Who toy line. Customers should be able to preorder these figures from their regular retailer and online stores shortly.

Mad Norwegian Press has announced the launch of Time, Unincorporated, a new series of books that will collect the best essays and commentary from a range of Doctor Who fanzines.

In spirit, this series will pick up the torch from Virgin's Licence Denied collection (1997), making some of the most delightful and strange fanzine writings available to a much wider audience.

Volume 1 of this new series, due out in May, will collect 15 years of Doctor Who-related essays and articles by Lance Parkin. The cornerstone of this edition is a year-by-year survey and analysis of Doctor Who that Parkin wrote for the show's 40th Anniversary of Doctor Who (here updated to through the present day), as well as a myriad of Parkin's articles and columns from the fanzines Enlightenment and Matrix. Also included: Parkin's original pitch for the celebrated Doctor Who novel The Infinity Doctors, his extensive advice on the art of writing, and more.

Jeremy Bement

Monday, 2 February 2009

The Bristol Commercial Vehicles Enthusiasts have reported that the BBC have hired an additional bus in the same style as the one used recently in filming for Planet of the Dead, and of course the one that was damaged in transit to Dubai that the media have extensively commented upon.

There is no official confirmation as yet as to if this new bus is also being shipped out to Dubai to replace the damaged one for filming.

The BBC have announced that a 60 second trailer for the forthcoming mini-seriesChildren of Earth will be shown at the New York Comic Con on Thursday 5th February at 4:00pm local time; this will be made available simultaneously in the United Kingdom (9:00pm GMT) on the official Torchwoodweb site.